PAUL SANDBY, RA (1725-1809)LLANGOLLEN IN THE COUNTY OF DENBIGH FROM THE TURNPIKE ROAD ABOVE THE RIVER

DEEBears inscription as title on the backboard, watercolour and bodycolour heightened with varnish or gum arabic45.5 x 60.5cm.Provenance: W. Angerstein; Mrs Norman (c.1843, label verso); D. M. Eccles MP; London, with P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. Ltd (label verso)Exhibited: London, The Arts Council of Great Britain, no date, no.36, from the Bradfer-Lawrence Collection (label verso)This may date to the late 1770's: between 1775 and 1777, Sandby published a series of aquatint views in Wales which were grounded in his solid understanding of topography from his diligent training with the Board of Ordnance. Without any infusion of sentimentality or the lyrical Classicism of artists like Richard Wilson, Sandby's views have the feel of immediate accuracy and truth that would have caught his eye as he worked. A 1776 print exists with the title of this watercolour but it differs in too many respects to be derived directly from it.++ Some scattered retouching, principally within the sky, over flaked losses